Comparison

Mineral Note vs Ato

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mineral Note

Features
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For everyone who loves minerals, gems, and rocks. This app helps you record everything you "find" and "collect" — and enjoy the hobby even more. From discovering and sharing collecting spots to keeping your own private collecting notebook and showcasing your creations, bring every encounter with stones together in one app. No account required — you can start taking notes right away. ■ Discover and share spots on the map Explore collecting spots for minerals, gems, and rocks from around the world on an interactive map. Search by place name to jump straight to where you want to go. For locations and shops that are okay to share publicly, add them to the map along with photos and stone types to share with the community. Allow location access to instantly find spots near where you are right now. ■ AI-assisted stone tag suggestions Show a photo to the AI, and it will suggest possible stone tags. Not sure what something is called? Just pick from the suggestions and start recording with ease. AI suggestions are candidate tags only and are not a precise identification. ■ Keep your own private "Notes" Record the stones you've found, the places you've visited, and the shops you've stopped by in a private notebook visible only to you. No sign-in needed — notes are saved on your device, and you can transfer them to an account later if you create one. Works even off the grid: take notes out in the field with no signal, and they sync automatically once you're back online. Pick multiple photos at once and crop them later. As your notes grow, search and filters help you find what you're looking for in seconds. ■ Share your creations in the Gallery Post your stone-based creations — wire art, accessories, and more — to the Gallery. Browsing other users' work for inspiration is part of the fun. Great for ・Anyone who enjoys mineral collecting or rockhounding ・Anyone who wants to record and organize a stone or crystal collection ・Anyone who makes handmade creations with stones ・Anyone looking for new collecting spots ・Anyone who wants to try the app without creating an account Key features ・Map display, place-name search, and posting of collecting spots ・Spots shown near your current location ・Filtering by category (Minerals / Gems / Rocks / Other) ・AI-powered stone tag suggestions ・Private notes (stones, collecting spots, shops) ・Note-taking without an account (saved on your device) ・Offline note-taking with automatic sync ・Search and filters for your notes ・Multi-photo selection, cropping, and automatic location from photos ・Posting to and browsing the creation Gallery ・Easy sign-in with Google or Apple account ・Light and Dark mode support Before you go ・When collecting, always follow the rules, etiquette, and applicable laws and regulations of each area, including obtaining landowner permission. ・Do not enter private property or restricted areas without authorization. ■ Terms of Use & Privacy Policy Apple Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Use: https://mineralnote.app/en/terms Privacy Policy: https://mineralnote.app/en/privacy

About

Ato

Features
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Ato (アト, Japanese for "trace" or "footprint") is a quiet, unhurried walking app. RECORD A WALK Open it and Ato draws the path you walk as a single line, with distance, time and pace. Lock the screen, put the phone in your pocket — it keeps recording quietly, and the Live Activity on your lock screen shows how far you have come. MY TRACES The places you have walked are counted as tiles. Walking the same street again never adds one — only going somewhere new does. See how many tiles you have lit, how much ground you have covered, and what percentage of each district you have walked: "Da'an District 13.6%". RANKS Seven tiers, from Couch Potato to Legendary Walker. Your rank comes from your daily average over the last seven days and is recalculated every time you open the app — so it reflects the walker you are now, not a lifetime total. It goes up, and it can go down. Distance at walking pace counts fully; riding counts 30%. The walk to the station still counts, but rank is earned on foot. CITY EXPLORATION CHESTS Every kilometre on foot earns a chest holding a random keepsake badge. There are eleven to collect, and when you go out changes what you find — larks in the early morning, dusk in the evening. Collect five of the same badge and you can wear it as an avatar frame. (All free. There are no in-app purchases.) HISTORY AND MONTHLY RECAP Every walk is kept: this week, this month, lifetime distance, milestone badges, and a monthly recap you can open at the end of the month. When a walk ends you can turn the route into a card and share it. MEET UP WITH FRIENDS Shopping separately? Open a meet-up room and send the code or link — one tap and they are in. See each other's position and distance on the map, drop a meeting point, send a quick signal ("I'm here!"). Your lock screen shows how far away they are. FRIENDS Add friends with a friend code and see who is walking or meeting up right now. Friends are sorted by rank; tap one to see their totals, coverage and badges. Cheer their latest walk with kudos. With three friends, your whole week counts ×1.5. (You can see each other's numbers — but never each other's routes. That stays private.) REMINDERS Optional daily notifications: a gentle nudge in the morning, and at night how far to walk tomorrow to reach the next rank. Both can be turned off at any time. SIGN IN WITH APPLE (OPTIONAL) You can record walks, see your history and coverage without an account. Sign in and your walks are backed up to your own private cloud space, so a new phone keeps everything — and friend features become available. ANONYMOUS CROWD HEATMAP Curious which area is busy right now? The heatmap shows how many people are walking nearby, completely anonymously: your position is blurred into a coarse grid cell on your device before it is ever sent, so others see density, never you. PRIVACY • No forced sign-up; Sign in with Apple is your choice • Location is used only while recording a walk or sharing in a room, and stops when you finish • Location sharing happens only in rooms you chose to join • Your walking routes are yours alone — friends cannot see them • Avatar photos are visible only to friends you have both added, and can be removed anytime • Heatmap data is anonymised and cannot be traced back to a person • Walks live on your phone; signed in, they are also stored where only you can reach them • Sign out or delete your account and all cloud data from inside the app, anytime • We do not sell data, show ads, track you, or sell anything in the app Tell us anything through "Feedback" inside the app. Walk slowly. Leave today's trace.

Screenshots

Mineral Note4 screens
Ato4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Ato at every 3 days against Mineral Note's every 10 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mineral Note ships an update every 10 days, Ato every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Mineral Note versus Ato: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMineral NoteAto
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.515.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB4 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperTOSHITAKA BOcheng yiting

In-app purchases

None

Mineral Note

No in-app purchases

None

Ato

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mineral Note free?
Mineral Note is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ato free?
Ato is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mineral Note or Ato have ads?
Neither Mineral Note nor Ato shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mineral Note or Ato?
Mineral Note ships an update every 10 days, and Ato every 3 days. Most recently, Mineral Note was updated on October 31, 2026 and Ato on October 31, 2026.

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